The nation’s intelligence director on Monday batted down House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) effort to prevent Hillary Clinton from receiving intelligence briefings once she receives the Democratic nomination.
In a letter obtained by CNN, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the speaker that all “officially nominated, eligible” candidates receive those briefings.
“Nominees for president and vice president receive these briefings by virtue of their status as candidates, and do not require separate security clearances before the briefings,” Clapper wrote, as quote by CNN. “Briefings for the candidates will be provided on an even-handed non-partisan basis.”
Ryan requested last week that Clinton not receive intelligence briefings due to her use of a private email server while secretary of state, noting that FBI Director James Comey qualified her handling of classified information as “careless.”
While all presidential candidates have traditionally received those briefings following the nominating conventions, which begin next week, House Republicans have tried to leverage Clinton’s email use against her.
On Monday, they formally asked the US Department of Justice to investigate whether Clinton lied to Congress about the classified information found on her server.
